The Sanzu River was an eerie place; the area was covered in a deep fog, making it difficult for anyone to see an inch beyond their faces. Flandre and Meiling had finally reached this bizarre river after a long journey by foot.
"Man this place is foggy; I can hardly see anything beyond my nose…" Meiling said to herself as she squinted in an attempt to focus her vision.
"I dunno China…I don't think it's that bad." Flandre replies, seeming unhindered by the fog.
"So says the vampire with the amazing eye vision."
"Hmmmm…Here let me try something…" Flandre says as her face took a focused expression, her wing crystals began to flicker with a faint light, which quickly turned into a bright glow, making the immediate area clear from fog. "Is that better China?"
"Much, much better! Neat trick, how did you do that anyways Flandre?" Meiling asked in awe as she looked at Flandre's rainbow colored light display that emanated from her wings.
"I dunno…I just focus really hard and…Poof! Pretty lights!" Flandre explained vaguely with a cheerful grin.
"I see…" Meiling replied, obviously confused by Flandre's explanation. "Oh hey look! There's someone over there!" Meiling said as she pointed to a silhouette in the distance, standing by a dead looking tree and a small boat that sat on the edge of the river. "Let's go and say hello."
Meiling and Flandre approached the figure, getting close enough to see all of this stranger's details. The stranger was a young looking woman, not looking a day past her early twenties. Her hair was a shade of dark pink, which was done in a pair of ponytails tied with hair beads. She wore a blue vest over a white dress, with a large belt with a coin tied to it wrapped around her waist. In her right hand she gripped a long scythe; the blade being curved in an odd way at its end.
"Hello there! Foggy today, isn't it?" Meiling greeted, giving a friendly wave of her hand to the stranger. The stranger didn't respond to Meiling's greeting, and stood completely still and unresponsive. "Um…Hello?"
"Ung…That's my boat…Get yer own…blasted pirates…" The woman mumbled.
"What? We're not pirates!" Meiling exclaimed in response to the woman's odd response.
Flandre giggled as she started poking the pink haired stranger's face with the wand-like staff she carried with her. "I think she's sleeping. Heehee, she sleeps just like you China!"
"What? I do not sleep like that!" Meiling shouted in response.
"Mmmm…Knock it off…ya blasted anteaters…" The woman said in her sleep once more.
"Yes you do! You stand up straight like her and snore really loud and say really funny things!" Flandre replied as she giggled loudly.
"Oh whatever, let's just wake her up already." Meiling said as she nudged the sleeping stranger. "Come on, rise and shine…"
"Mmmmmm…Ungh…five more minutes mum…" The lady muttered, with Meiling starting to shake her violently awake from her rest. "Oy! I'm up, I'm up! Stop it with the shaking!" The woman yelled, with eyes wide.
"Heehee, you're funny." Flandre said with childish laughter.
"Hmmmm? Oh hey there kid, did you want me to play with you or something?" The pink haired woman asked, giving Flandre a curious look.
"You'd play with me? R-Really? Only Meiling's ever played with me…Everyone else says they're too busy…" Flandre said with a pout.
"Sure, it's not like I'm doing anything right now…Then again I guess I should probably be getting back to work before the boss chews me out and gives me a lecture on proper shinigami work ethics again…" The stranger said as she scratched her chin.
"Wait, you're a shinigami?" Meiling asked.
"Yup, Komachi Onozuka, shinigami extraordinaire at your service! Well if your dead anyways, not allowed to ferry livin folk to Higan." The woman introduced herself as, holding her hand out to the two.
"Well met, I'm Hong Meiling." Meiling introduced as she vigorously shook Komachi's hand.
"Shakin death's hand without even flinchin? Ha, I like you!" Komachi said cheerfully. "Now who're you cutie?" Komachi asked as she turned her attention to Flandre.
"I'm Flandre! Nice to meet you, I hope we can play and be friends!" Flandre introduced herself with a childish grin.
"Likewise mate, tis better to make allies than enemies. Less people dying that way and less work on me." Komachi said casually as she shook Flandre's hand.
"Heh yeah…"Meiling replied nervously to Komachi's comment. "So Miss Komachi, what do you do around here exactly?"
"Besides sleep?" Flandre added as she giggled happily.
"Oh, funny question…Well mates, well I ferry the dead to Higan to be judged by the boss man. I get spare change and some pretty neat life stories in payment. Like once I ferried this Jobs guy, he told me how he made some company named after a fruit and how they made this thing…I think he called it an eye pad. Pretty interestin, don't know why anyone would need a pad for their eyes though…Nice guy too." Komachi explained as she rubbed her chin in thought.
"W-Wait! You…You said you ferry dead people…right?" Flandre asked.
"Aye, that I did." Komachi replies.
"Well did you…Did you ferry a lady named Mokou and Keine?" Flandre asked with worry.
"Eh? Y'mean the loner and the teacher? Nah didn't see em here." Komachi answered.
Flandre gave a sigh of relief at Komachi's answer, "Then they're okay…"
"Thank goodness." Meiling added, also looking relieved.
"Dunno why you'd worry about those two, the teach's got plenty of time left amongst the living and that Mokou, she's immortal, she ain't ever gonna kick the bucket." Komachi said.
"Moky can't die?" Flandre asked in surprise.
"Eyup, been that way for…about one thousand years, give or take. She drunk something called a Hourai elixir if I remember right…Somethin about getting even with that moon princess Kaguya for dumpin her old man…Hoo, the boss sure did bitch n' moan about her and how she was a coward and whatnot for trying to escape death or something…I didn't get much of what she said, I fell asleep after the first hour or so."
"Wow…"
"Yep, hard tale to swallow eh? Don't envy that girl one bit, watchin as everyone you love dies, unable to ever join em in the afterlife, and yer only constant companion being pain n' misery." Komachi said in a casual tone.
At Komachi's explanation, Flandre felt great sympathy for her immortal friend, who would never feel the relief of death, and who would be forced to live forever with the only one ever guaranteed not to succumb to death being her most bitter enemy. "Poor Moky…" Flandre said sadly as she looked to the ground in sadness.
"Aw shucks kid…don't start with the water works…Hate it when kids cry, makes me feel guilty." Komachi said as she nervously rubbed the back of her head.
"Flandre…it's alright, Mokou seemed to be happy enough the way she is…" Meiling said, trying to cheer up her glum friend.
"I know but…The next time I see Moky…I'm gonna give her a big hug!" Flandre said with a smile. "That's what makes me feel better when I'm sad…do you think it'll make her happy?"
"I'm sure it will, Flandre." Meiling said with a cheerful giggle.
"Keine…How are you holding up?" Mokou asked her bedridden friend back at her shack of a home in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
Mokou's house wasn't anything too special. Its walls and roof were made of flimsy looking pieces of wood and bamboo nailed together, its floor was just dirt, and it had minimal furniture and decoration. The only furniture being a bed cushioned with straw which Keine was currently occupying, a small circular table made of old rotten looking wood with two chairs sitting next to it, and a cabinet for holding the few possessions Mokou owned sitting against the wall, standing across from her bed.
"Urgh…B-Better…Thank you Mokou…" Keine said as she breathed in and out slowly. "E-Eirin got me worse than I thought…Should have known she would have dipped her a-arrows in…p-poison." She said weakly. Keine's forehead had been wrapped in a bloodied cloth, with her left arm covered with bandages as well.
"Yeah...But you still kicked her ass." Mokou said with a sad smile, she also being heavily injured herself with her left arm in a sling and her right leg being wrapped in a bandage that was stained red with her blood. "But still…My injuries should have healed by now…The damned elixir sure does its job every other time, so why not now?" Mokou asked in frustration.
"It was probably E-Eirin's doing…She probably shot you with an arrow dipped with poison th-that slows the healing rate of whoever g-gets it…in their system…" Keine strained to say.
"Save your strength Keine…Your students still need their teacher you know."
Keine gave a pained laugh, "Wh-Who are you…my mom?"
A small smirk made its way to Mokou's grim face at her friend's response, "Aw shut up…Anyways I'm going to go find you some painkillers at the village, they won't be as good as Eirin's but…they might help make the pain more bearable, besides it'll be better than nothing. Probably get some extra food too since you'll probably be staying with me for a while…and tell the village folk that you'll be out of action for a while. You gonna be okay by yourself for a little while?"
"Mmmmm y-yeah…but would you mind picking up the children's homework assignments too? I-I still have to grade them."
"Sure, just take it easy though…Well I'm gonna hit the road now, I'll be back soon." Mokou said as she began limping her way to the door.
"M-Mokou." Keine called, causing Mokou to turn to her. "Th-Thank you…for everything."
Mokou just gave her a nod in response, and continued her way out the door, leaving Keine by her lonesome.
"Mokou…"
Mokou's trip to the village took much longer than needed, a trip that should have taken about ten minutes to and from on foot ended up being more than twice the amount of time, due to Mokou's injured leg and being unable to fly in her current condition without putting too much strain on herself. Making a normally easy trip long and straining, but she eventually reached her destination using a stick as a crutch and the great amount of pain resistance she developed in her long life.
Upon entering the village she received a few hateful glares and awkward looks from the townspeople, and a few smiles from those she had guided out of the bamboo forest after getting lost within it. Just another reason why she disliked coming to the village, so she quickly did what she needed to do while ignoring the nasty looks she was receiving from the villagers, with her only task now left to do being the purchase of medicine to better treat her and Keine's injuries, which was so far unfruitful.
"Damn…Doesn't anyone in this village sell medications besides the lunatic doctor?" Mokou asked aloud in frustration as she searched around for any sign of someone who sold medicine.
"Miss Mokou?"
"Who wants to know?" Mokou asked as she turned to her back and found herself facing Reisen, who sat behind a small stand with a sign that said " 's miracle cures" in front of it, with another smaller sign saying "open" sitting on the counter. "Oh, hey Reisen." Mokou greeted as she approached the rabbit girl.
Mokou never had any grudges against those who lived in Eientei, save Kaguya, and actually got along with many of its residents. But Reisen was the one she was most fond of.
"You don't look too good Miss Mokou…Master Eirin and Princess Kaguya must have done quite the number on you." Reisen said as she gave her a concerned look.
"Ha, if you think this is bad, you should've seen Kaguya."
"I did…she looked bad, but even her injuries have healed more than yours have…Master Eirin must have injected you with some of her new toxins in your system. They were designed to slow down the healing process of whoever's injected with it…" Reisen said with certainty.
"That's what Keine thought…Speaking of Keine; I really need some painkillers for her, and anything else that'll get her back on her feet quicker. I know I shouldn't ask since I kinda attacked your boss and all but…"
"Here, this should help with Miss Keine's recovery," Reisen said as she took out several small bottles filled with multi-colored pills. "These here are the painkillers, don't give her too much at one time, or she might overdose on them, and here is an antidote to Master Eirin's poison it's recommended to swallow it with some water."
"You sure it's okay to do this? I mean…We did kinda kick your bosses' sorry asses, won't Eirin flip her lid if you sell me medicine?"
"Well…probably…but I won't sit back and do nothing…" Reisen replied sadly. "So please, take it."
"If you insist…thanks Reisen." Mokou replied gratefully.
"No problem but…I know you and Princess Kaguya fight at every opportunity possible…but why did Miss Keine and Master Eirin get involved? Master Eirin doesn't answer me when I ask…" Reisen asked as she put Mokou's medicine in a small paper bag.
"That lunatic doctor and the moon bitch were attacking some…friends of mine, so Keine and I stepped in. Maybe you saw them; they said they were visiting Eientei."
"Oh, what did they look like?" Reisen asked, now interested.
"Well…One of them wore a lot of green and had red hair, the other was a short little girl, she wore a lot of red and had blonde hair, she also had these weird looking wings too…" Mokou described to the best of her ability.
"Meiling and Flandre?" Reisen asked in surprise.
"Ah, so you've met them?"
"Yes! They helped me with one of my chores before seeing Master Eirin…" Reisen said as she hands Mokou her medicine.
"Really? Then why would Eirin and the bitch attack those two…?" Mokou pondered aloud as she dug through her pockets for money.
"This is on the house." Reisen said to Mokou who was now desperately digging through her pockets for any spare change.
Mokou gave her a sigh of relief, "You're a life saver Reisen."
"Oh don't mention it…" Reisen said as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "But…I'm also confused why Master Eirin and the princess would attack those two…I'll have to ask master later…"
"You do that, but if either of those two makes another move on those two, heads will roll." Mokou replied with a grim expression. "Anyways I gotta go get back to Keine, thanks for the meds Reisen, see you again sometime."
"You're welcome, get well soon!" Reisen said as Mokou left, limping her way out of the village in a slow pace.
"So…What brings you two to the Sanzu anyhow? You two seem…too laid back to be here to challenge me for an old loved one's soul. Not that I mind visitors one bit." Komachi asked as she rested her scythe on her shoulders.
"We're just on a bit of a vacation of sorts…So we're exploring every corner of Gensokyo we can you see." Meiling explained.
"Awwwww! Wish I got a vacation…The boss always yells at me when I ask for one…She's all like "Shinigami don't take vacations, now get back to work you no good slacker!" Komachi moaned.
"Your boss sounds cranky…" says Flandre, who was now sitting by Komachi.
"Yeah…she bitches a lot…but she treats me with some respect, that's better than some can say I s'pose…Hey if you two're sightseeing and all that good stuff, how bout I take you two to Higan?"
"I thought you weren't supposed to ferry the living to Higan?" Meiling asked.
"Eh, I say lots of things…but what's the harm in just ferrying you two there and back real quick?"
"I dunno…"
"Ah come on! This ain't an everyday offer y'know! I'm only offerin cuz I like ya! Come on mate, Higan is one heck of a sight!" Komachi urged.
"Come on China, ! With lots and lots of sugar on top!" Flandre pleaded, giving Meiling a cute pout and a pair of puppy eyes.
"Mmmmm…Oh fine! I can't say no to that face…" Meiling mumbled under her breath.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Meiling!" Flandre said as she hugged her tall companion's legs.
"Aye, that's more like it!" Komachi said with cheer. "Get on in mates, the seats are a bit rough on the rumps, but the ol' gal gets the job done." Komachi said as she pointed to the small boat sitting at the river's edge using her scythe.
Flandre immediately jumps into the boat with great excitement, causing the boat to violently shake in the water. "Come on! Come on! Let's go!" Flandre called as she childishly laughed while she sat on one of the boat's seat. Meiling took a seat next to her, placing her supplies at her feet.
"Oy, a vampire that isn't scared of running water? Now I've seen everything." Komachi said, chuckling as she boarded the vessel, taking a spot at the back of the boat. Komachi began to spin her scythe in a circular motion, when she stopped the spinning; the blade of her scythe was gone and was now just a long stick. Komachi held her stick in the water and started rowing with it, pushing away from the shore and the group floated off slowly, now being carried by the rivers current and Komachi's rowing.
"How long is this river anyways?" Meiling asked after the group had been leisurely floating through the water for a good amount of time.
"Ah, depends all on the person. Depending on how long you've lived, what crimes they've committed, and what they've done with their life." Komachi explained as she kept her lazy rowing pace. "You two're youkai, so it'll be a while…except maybe for the wee one."
"Huh?" Flandre said at her mentioning taking her sight away from the water she had been staring at for the entire trip.
"Y'know what I said bout the river's length depending on what ya did in your life and such? Well your life sure is a heck of a lot longer than any human's but…This vibe I'm getting from ya…It's like you've been sleeping for almost your entire life or something, because I can't feel any notable events in your life besides a few…" Komachi explained, all the while keeping her attention on the seemingly endless river.
"Oh…" Flandre muttered sadly as she went back to staring at her reflection in the water.
Meiling crept towards Komachi and whispered, "Her life is a bit of a sensitive subject…she's been living in seclusion for nearly her entire life because her older sister ordered her to you see…"
"Oy, say what? That sounds like one nutty family issue there…Alright let's change the subject then…" Komachi whispered back. "Ahem, hey little mate, didja know that you can find extinct sea beasties in the Sanzu here?"
"No…"
"Ah well then keep your eyes peeled mate! Ya won't see these critters every day you know! Ooh look there's one now!" Komachi exclaimed as she pointed to a fish jumping up from the water, causing Flandre to gasp in awe before it plunged back into the water. "That there was…some sort of fish!"
"So cool…" Flandre said as she watched the strange fish swim down the river, her sadness now forgotten.
Komachi gave a light chuckle, "Yeah, it sure is kid…Hmmmm…Alright, looks like we're about halfway there now mates!" Komachi announced, all the while keeping her relaxed pace of rowing.
"Great! Because this seat is killing me!" Meiling groaned in relief as she rubbed her bottom.
"Yeah…I've asked about getting new seats for the ol' girl, but noooooooooo…we have better things to worry about besides your passengers seating conditions Komachi…now get back to work!" Komachi said in a high pitched voice, trying to mimic her boss's tone.
"Man your boss sounds as bad as mine…Once I asked about getting a chair to sit on while I do my job, but nooooooooo… I slack off enough the way it is…" Meiling groans.
"Oh? Who's your boss? She sounds bitchy." Komachi asked.
"Oh the head maid at the mansion I work at, her name is Sakuya."
"Sakuya? Sakuya Izayoi! Ah dang it! That lady caused me a hell of a lotta trouble!"
"She did?"
"Hell yeah! Crazy maid threatened to commit suicide and make my job one life harder! Stinkin maid…" Komachi grumbled.
"Haha…Real sorry about that…she can pretty crazy sometimes…" Meiling said sheepishly.
"S'all good, my boss gave her one heck of a lecture, so I'll call the score settled. It was one of the few cool things she's done during my time under her…Still doesn't compensate for her bitchin though."
"These two complain about their bosses too much…" Flandre mumbles under her breath as Meiling and Komachi continued to complain about their jobs and employers to one another.
The sun began to set on another day as Reisen lugged the many medical products she was selling at the village back home to Eientei. Her thoughts were in chaos as she pondered her conversation she had back at the village with Mokou earlier that day. She began to have conflicting feelings about her masters as she trekked her way through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
Reisen made it to Eientei in good time, even with the supplies slowing down her pace, having a great grasp of the bamboo forest after all her years of living within it being very useful in getting through the forest quickly. Rabbits still wandered around aimlessly about the mansion grounds, with their leader Tewi lazily taking a nap on the yard, snoring loudly as she clutched a small rabbit to her side, which seemed to desperately trying to escape her grasp. Reisen ignored her sleeping tormentor and made her way inside the mansion and placed all of her unsold goods in the storeroom for future use.
Reisen found herself at the door to Eirin's room after she finished storing everything in its rightful place. Taking a deep breath, Reisen knocked on the door.
"You may come in." Eirin said from the room. Reisen did as she said and cautiously entered Eirin's room, closing the door behind her. Eirin's room was very bare, having only a bed which Eirin currently laid on, with a small bed stand with a lamp on it right next to it. Eirin was reading the latest copy of the Bunbunmaru newspaper as she rested.
"Ah, Udonge, good timing I need to have a word with you." Eirin said who had a bandage wrapped around her forehead thanks to Keine; her right arm was also bandaged.
"I-I actually need to ask you something master…" Reisen said nervously to her injured mentor.
"This is urgent Udonge, your question can come later." Eirin said dismissively. "But tell me, how did it go in the village today?"
"I-It went well…I sold a few of your medications." Reisen replied.
"Good, good…Now I must ask, have you heard of the bounty Remilia Scarlet is holding?" Eirin asked her pupil, changing the subject suddenly as she set aside the newspaper.
"B-Bounty?"
"Did I stutter? Yes Udonge, a bounty. She's holding it on two youkai named Hong Meiling and Flandre Scarlet, a close relative to her as far as we can tell." Eirin explained. "The princess and I tried capturing the two and collecting this bounty yesterday, but as you know, Fujiwara no Mokou and Keine Kamishirasawa interfered, allowing our prey to escape…" Reisen gave her master a look of shock from her revelation, with Eirin seemingly either oblivious or uncaring about her pupil's expression continued her explanation. "We are still determined to capture those two and collect the bounty to pay off our debts caused by Princess Kaguya's…recent purchases. We should be able to succeed this time, now that Mokou and Keine are out of the way now that I've injected the two with a toxin that will slow their recovery rate. Putting them in no condition to fight anytime soon, giving us an opportune time to hunt our quarry down."
"Wh-Why are you telling this all to m-me?" Reisen asked in shock.
"Because Udonge, you'll be assisting us in the hunt this time. Your abilities will be quite useful to us, and our targets won't know your affiliated with us, making tricking them all too easy for you…Now what is it that you wanted to ask?"
"N…Nothing…"
"Very well then, read this newspaper article, it has all the information you'll need on our targets. Be sure to get some rest tonight Udonge, our search begins bright and early tomorrow." Eirin said as she handed Reisen the newspaper she was previously reading.
"Y-Yes master…" Reisen replied sadly, exiting the room with newspaper now in hand.
Author's Note: Well here we are with another chapter finished. This one took a bit of time since...well I'm lazy. Which is ironic since this chapter stars the series laziest person, Komachi. I thought I did pretty well with her dialogue, or at the least had fun writing it. As a little note, I'm not 100% sure on whether Komachi can actually ferry living people to Higan or not, but it was a necessary rule to break to set up for our dynamic duo's next destination...So that'll probably give you a clue to where the story is going next. Stay tuned!